Six states moved closer to equality last week

March 5, 2014

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows nearly 60% of Americans support marriage equality, but only 17 states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex couples to wed. Recently, though, incredible progress has been made on a number of fronts to advance LGBT rights across the country.

Arizona
Governor Jan Brewer vetoed SB 1062, a bill that would’ve allowed businesses across the state to refuse service to LGBT Arizonans. The governor did the right thing in standing up for all Arizonans and refusing to sign this discriminatory measure into law.

Kentucky
A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the state of Kentucky must respect same-sex couples’ legal marriages that are performed in other states. As a result, Kentucky will recognize all marriages moving forward. Our partners at Freedom to Marry launched their Southerners for the Freedom to Marry campaign earlier this week, and this is a big step forward in the push to achieve marriage equality in the South.

Texas
On Wednesday a U.S. district judge ruled that Texas’ same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. An appeal is appending, so marriage licenses won’t begin being issued right away, but this is another huge sign of progress in another traditionally conservative Southern state.

Illinois
Last week, a federal judge ordered the Cook County Clerk’s office to begin immediately issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This ruling fast-tracked the state’s marriages, which weren’t set to begin until June 1st according to the bill passed last year by the state legislature and signed by Governor Quinn. This week, Champaign County followed suit and began issuing licenses as well.

Indiana
Advocates were successful in fighting back against HJR-3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would’ve added a same-sex marriage ban to the state’s constitution.

Oregon
Last week, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum declared that she won’t defend Measure 36, the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. She stated on February 20th, "Marriage is the way that loving couples become family to each other and to their extended families, and there is no good reason to exclude same-sex couples from marriage in Oregon, or from having their marriages recognized here."

While supporters keep up the fight in states across the nation, we’d love to hear how this fight impacts you. Share your story and add your voice to the fight for the freedom to marry.